Pseudo-Dionysius: The Divine Names · 4 of 39 · tr. C.E. Rolt

Chapter 4, Section 1d

Nay, even the foundation and the boundaries of the heavens (as we forgot to say while 91 thinking of other matters) owe their origin to the Good.

Such is this universe, which lessens not nor grows, and such the noiseless movements (if noiseless they be) 254 254 εἰ οὕτε χρὴ φάναι.

D.

is alluding to the ancient belief in the Music of the Spheres.

of the vast heavenly revolution, and such the starry orders whose light is fixed as an ornament of heaven, and such the various wanderings of certain stars—especially the repeated and returning orbits of those two luminaries to which the Scripture giveth the name of “Great,” 255 255 Gen.

i.

16 .

whereby we reckon our days and nights and months and years; which define the round of time and temporal events and give them measurement, sequence, and cohesion.

And what shall I say concerning the sun’s rays considered in themselves?

From the Good comes the light which is an image of Goodness; wherefore the Good is described by the name of “Light,” being the archetype thereof which is revealed in that image.

For as the Goodness of the all-transcendent Godhead reaches from the highest and most perfect forms of being unto the lowest, and still is beyond them all, remaining superior to those above and retaining those below in its embrace, and so gives light to all things that can receive It, and creates and vitalizes and maintains and perfects them, and is the Measure 256 256 μέτρον.

All things have their pre-existent limits in the Super-Essence.

of the Universe and its Eternity, 257 257 αἰών—i.e.

The Permanent Principle underlying its temporal process.

This and the next phrase explain what is meant by the words “the Measure of the universe.” The Good sets bounds to the world (1) temporally, because Eternity is the Fount of Time, (2) spatially, because Transcendent Unity is the Fount of Number.

All temporal things are permanent in God; and all diversities are one in Him.

its Numerical Principle, 258 258 All number has its roots in the Good.

Elsewhere D.

says that the Good being beyond Unity, is a Multiplicity as well as an Unity.

Cf.

Intr., p.

5.

its Order, its 92 Embracing Power, its Cause and its End: 259 259 Here we get once more the Aristotelian classification of causes.

The Good is:— (i) Formal Cause (1) immanent in the world (Order— τάξις ); (2) containing the world (Embracing Power— περιοχή ).

(ii) Efficient Cause (Cause— αἰτία ).

(iii) Final Cause (End— τέλος ).

even so this great, all-bright and ever-shining sun, which is the visible image of the Divine Goodness, faintly reechoing the activity of the Good, illumines all things that can receive its light while retaining the utter simplicity of light, and expands above and below throughout the visible world the beams of its own radiance.

And if there is aught that does not share them, this is not due to any weakness or deficiency in its distribution of the light, but is due to the unreceptiveness of those creatures which do not attain sufficient singleness to participate therein.

For verily the light passeth over many such substances and enlightens those which are beyond them, and there is no visible thing unto which the light reacheth not in the exceeding greatness of its proper radiance.

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Themes

Apophatic Theologytheology

Describing the divine only by negation—God transcends all positive categories and concepts; the via negativa.

The text emphasizes that the Good is beyond unity and remains superior to those above while retaining those below.

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Correspondencecosmology

The Hermetic axiom that the structure of the cosmos is reflected at every scale — 'as above, so below; as within, so without' — making each level a legible map of the others.

The passage states that the Good reaches from highest forms to lowest, revealing itself in images like the sun's rays.

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Divine Hiddennesstheology

The supreme God's radical concealment beyond ordinary knowledge or perception; the Hidden Father.

The Good is described as all-transcendent and beyond unity, remaining superior to those above.

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Divine Immanencetheology

The doctrine that the divine is present within all things and the universe itself, pervading creation rather than remaining solely transcendent above it. Distinct from unity_of_being (the general claim that all existence is one substance, agnostic about whether that substance indwells its parts) and from kingdom_within (the divine present specifically IN THE INDIVIDUAL human, accessible without mediation) — divine_immanence is the general pervading-presence claim applied to all of creation, not a human-specific indwelling.

The Goodness 'reaches from the highest and most perfect forms of being unto the lowest' and 'gives light to all things that can receive It,' pervading all of creation while remaining beyond it.

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Divine Lighttheology

The uncreated luminous quality of the divine, sometimes experienced directly in mystical states; illumination as revelation.

The passage repeatedly describes the Good as 'Light' and the sun as an image of Divine Goodness.

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Divine Providencetheology

Pronoia — the doctrine that the divine actively orders the unfolding of the cosmos and human affairs toward intelligible ends, against pure chance or blind necessity.

The Good 'creates and vitalizes and maintains and perfects' all things, and is the 'Cause and its End' of the universe, actively ordering the cosmos toward intelligible purposes.

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Divine Simplicitytheology

The doctrine that God has no parts, divisions, or composite attributes; pure undivided being.

The sun 'retain[s] the utter simplicity of light' while expanding its radiance, and the Good is the undivided source whose simplicity persists even in its manifold expression.

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Emanation Hierarchycosmology

A chain of divine beings or principles flowing downward from a single transcendent source (the One or the Father), each level less perfect than the one above.

The text describes a flow from the Good to the universe and stars, with the Good remaining superior to all levels.

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Evil As Privationtheology

Augustinian and Plotinian doctrine that evil has no positive being of its own but is a lack, distortion, or absence of the good — denying ontological dualism while preserving moral seriousness.

The lack of reception of light is attributed to unreceptiveness rather than deficiency in distribution.

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Living Godtheology

The divine conceived as active, present, and dynamic—not an abstract principle but a personal responsive reality.

The Good is described as active, creating and vitalizing all things that can receive it.

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Monadcosmology

The absolutely simple, undivided first principle from which all multiplicity and existence flows.

The text refers to the 'Transcendent Unity' as the Fount of Number from which all multiplicity flows.

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Numerical Mysticismtheology

Numbers, proportions, and mathematical relationships as the underlying structure of divine reality.

The passage identifies Transcendent Unity as the Fount of Number and explains that all number has its roots in the Good.

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Paradox As Teachingethics

Using apparent contradiction, reversal, or riddle to destabilise ordinary understanding and induce insight.

The text notes that the Good is a Multiplicity as well as an Unity, presenting a paradoxical nature.

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Unity Of Beingtheology

The doctrine that all existence is ultimately one substance or one divine reality; non-duality as a theological claim.

The text asserts that all diversities are one in Him and all things are permanent in God.

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